How do we toughen our children to stand up against a difficult future? By having them prance about merrily in a gentle spray of cool hose water? Of course not. That is why Wham-O invented one of the most dangerous toys to grace the American backyard, “The Water Wiggle”. Most of you know of the Wiggle and have the scars to prove it, but if you have not faced the suburban water serpent, here is what you are missing.
You take a standard garden hose and attached a weighted sprinkler to its end. Picture a Medieval Morning Star, with a goofy face painted on it. Gather the kids around it. Turn on the hose and watch the carnage. Kids will laugh as the Wiggle magically rises into the air and will then be terrified as the aquatic worm lunges at them time and again. Never relenting until it turns them into a crying, moist grass-covered heap.
In 1986 they turned one of these on in Pt. Pleasant, NJ and gathered 100 kids around it. 22 years later one man is still standing in the showery danger zone of this evil hose worm. But he is no longer like the rest of us. They say that when it rains, he can dodge the very drops. One day he will emerge from the Garden State and assume his destiny as King of our land.
You think I am messing around about the dangers of this thing? Not only will it knock you out cold, but you can also drown!
Wham-O stated that the recall is occasioned by the death of a four-year-old child in March 1978. The youngster was playing with some other children in his backyard with a dismantled “Water Wiggle,” one from which the bell-shaped head had been removed or had come off. The exposed aluminum nozzle became lodged in his mouth and he drowned. Wham-O stated that it had no knowledge of how or why the toy was dismantled or how the nozzle became lodged in the child’s mouth.
Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 1978
Release # 78-020
Recall Of Wham-O Water Wiggle Toy
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Apr. 13) -- Wham-O Manufacturing Co., San Gabriel, Calif., in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, today announced it is voluntarily stopping sale and recalling its "Water Wiggle" toy. Approximately 2 1/2 million of these toys have been sold throughout the United States over the past 17 years.
The toy consists of a seven-foot plastic hose attached to an aluminum water-jet nozzle which is covered by a bell-shaped plastic head. The toy is designed to be attached to a garden hose for water fun. It retails for approximately $3.50.
Wham-O stated that the recall is occasioned by the death of a four-year-old child in March 1978. The youngster was playing with some other children in his backyard with a dismantled "Water Wiggle," one from which the bell-shaped head had been removed or had come off. The exposed aluminum nozzle became lodged in his mouth and he drowned. Wham-O stated that it had no knowledge of how or why the toy was dismantled or how the nozzle became lodged in the child's mouth.
A "Water Wiggle" was involved in a similar death of a three-year-old boy in 1975. Parents are advised not to allow their children to play with this product. Wham-O requests its retailers to remove all "Water Wiggles" from their shelves.
Consumers who own a "Water Wiggle" toy should return the product to the retail store where purchased for a full refund or credit toward another product.
Consumers requiring information concerning this recall should contact the Customer Service Department, Wham-O Manufacturing Company, 835 East El Monte Street, San Gabriel, California 91778 (toll free numbers 800/423-4592 and 800/423-4593) or call the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission toll-free hotline 800/638-2772.
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CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about it by visiting https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Water Wiggle
How do we toughen our children to stand up against a difficult future? By having them prance about merrily in a gentle spray of cool hose water? Of course not. That is why Wham-O invented one of the most dangerous toys to grace the American backyard, “The Water Wiggle”. Most of you know of the Wiggle and have the scars to prove it, but if you have not faced the suburban water serpent, here is what you are missing.
You take a standard garden hose and attached a weighted sprinkler to its end. Picture a Medieval Morning Star, with a goofy face painted on it. Gather the kids around it. Turn on the hose and watch the carnage. Kids will laugh as the Wiggle magically rises into the air and will then be terrified as the aquatic worm lunges at them time and again. Never relenting until it turns them into a crying, moist grass-covered heap.
In 1986 they turned one of these on in Pt. Pleasant, NJ and gathered 100 kids around it. 22 years later one man is still standing in the showery danger zone of this evil hose worm. But he is no longer like the rest of us. They say that when it rains, he can dodge the very drops. One day he will emerge from the Garden State and assume his destiny as King of our land.
You think I am messing around about the dangers of this thing? Not only will it knock you out cold, but you can also drown!
Wham-O stated that the recall is occasioned by the death of a four-year-old child in March 1978. The youngster was playing with some other children in his backyard with a dismantled “Water Wiggle,” one from which the bell-shaped head had been removed or had come off. The exposed aluminum nozzle became lodged in his mouth and he drowned. Wham-O stated that it had no knowledge of how or why the toy was dismantled or how the nozzle became lodged in the child’s mouth.
You take a standard garden hose and attached a weighted sprinkler to its end. Picture a Medieval Morning Star, with a goofy face painted on it. Gather the kids around it. Turn on the hose and watch the carnage. Kids will laugh as the Wiggle magically rises into the air and will then be terrified as the aquatic worm lunges at them time and again. Never relenting until it turns them into a crying, moist grass-covered heap.
In 1986 they turned one of these on in Pt. Pleasant, NJ and gathered 100 kids around it. 22 years later one man is still standing in the showery danger zone of this evil hose worm. But he is no longer like the rest of us. They say that when it rains, he can dodge the very drops. One day he will emerge from the Garden State and assume his destiny as King of our land.
You think I am messing around about the dangers of this thing? Not only will it knock you out cold, but you can also drown!
Wham-O stated that the recall is occasioned by the death of a four-year-old child in March 1978. The youngster was playing with some other children in his backyard with a dismantled “Water Wiggle,” one from which the bell-shaped head had been removed or had come off. The exposed aluminum nozzle became lodged in his mouth and he drowned. Wham-O stated that it had no knowledge of how or why the toy was dismantled or how the nozzle became lodged in the child’s mouth.
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